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Irene Aukongak

Irene Tagumaaq Aukongak was born on January 2, 1937 in the village of Upper Kalskag, Alaska. Her father was a fur trapper so the family moved around a lot, and the children missed a lot of school. Eventually, she and her younger sister spent three years at the Holy Cross Mission school in Holy Cross, Alaska. From 1954 to 1955, Irene attended licensed practical nurse training at Mt. Edgecumbe School in Sitka, Alaska. She got a job as a nurse at the Alaska Native hospital in Anchorage, where she met and married Siegfried Aukongak from Golovin. In 1956, they moved back Golovin, and because of her nursing background she was asked to help with visiting doctors and nurses. At the time, there was no official community health aide program, so Irene did the work without being paid until the late 1960s when the community health aide program was established by the US Public Health Service and later taken over by Norton Sound Health Corporation in Nome, Alaska. Irene retired from being a health aide in 2002. In recognition of her contributions to the village, the health clinic in Golovin is now named the "Irene L. Aukongak Dagumaaq Health Clinic." For more about Irene Aukongak, listen to an interview with her conducted in 2011 for KNOM radio station's Elder Voices series.

Date of Birth:

Jan 2, 1937

Irene Aukongak appears in the following new Jukebox projects:

Community Health Aide Program

Irene Aukongak's Slideshow

Willa Ashenfelter's Slideshow

Interview Title	Abstract	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Date of Interview
Willa Ashenfelter and Irene Aukongak, Part 1	Willa Ashenfelter and Irene Aukongak were interviewed on September 13, 2005 by Karen Brewster at the Norton Sound Health Corporation, Village Health Services office in Nome, Alaska. Willa and Irene were interviewed together because they were health aides in nearby villages during the same time period, worked closely together, went to training together, and are close friends. They traveled to Nome for the interview. They have great fun remembering their younger days and telling stories together, each adding to the memories of the other. In this first part of a three part interview, Willa and Irene talk about how they became health aides, training they received, early equipment they had, working without being paid, methods of communication with the doctors, challenges and joys of the work, the importance of family and community support for a health aide, and changes in management of the health aide program. They also talk about delivering babies, handling emergency cases, working in their home village, and dealing with deaths.	2004-17-16_PT.1	Community Health Aide Program	Sep 13, 2005
Willa Ashenfelter and Irene Aukongak, Part 2	This is the continuation of an interview with Willa Ashenfelter and Irene Aukongak on September 13, 2005 by Karen Brewster at the Norton Sound Health Corporation, Village Health Services office in Nome, Alaska. Willa and Irene were interviewed together because they were health aides in nearby villages during the same time period, worked closely together, went to training together, and are close friends. They traveled to Nome for the interview. They have great fun remembering their younger days and telling stories together, each adding to the memories of the other.In this second part of a three part interview, Willa and Irene talk about the role of the health aide in a community, dealing with suicide, domestic violence, and emergencies, providing quality patient care, developing a patient records system, communicating with doctors and with each other, and relying on each other as co-workers and close friends. They also talk about the use of plants as traditional medicine, how they handled the stress of the job, and the joy of saving lives.	2004-17-16_PT.2	Community Health Aide Program	Sep 13, 2005
Willa Ashenfelter and Irene Aukongak, Part 3	This is the continuation of an interview with Willa Ashenfelter and Irene Aukongak on September 13, 2005 with Karen Brewster at the Norton Sound Health Corporation, Village Health Services office in Nome, Alaska. Willa and Irene were interviewed together because they were health aides in nearby villages during the same time period, worked closely together, went to training together, and are close friends. They traveled to Nome for the interview. They have great fun remembering their younger days and telling stories together, each adding to the memories of the other. In this third part of a three part interview, Willa and Irene talk about how they met and became friends, the stresses and rewards of caring for people and being a community health aide, and the joys of successfully treated a patient. They also talk about dealing with accidents and emergencies, how the types of medical problems and communication methods have changed over the years, and effects of an increase in suicides.	2004-17-16_PT.3	Community Health Aide Program	Sep 13, 2005